Virginia has 2 programs titled software engineering at 2 schools, 1 accredited by ABET, and 21 computer science programs. This guide covers each one, what it costs, and what software developers earn in the state.
Kevin ToFounder & Editor·B.S. in Computer Science, Temple University·Updated
Software engineering programs
2
titled software engineering
ABET-accredited
1
ABET’s list, 2026-09-30
Computer science programs
21
IPEDS 2024
Median pay, software developers
$136,460
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Key takeaways
01Virginia has 2 degrees titled software engineering, 1 bachelor’s and 1 master’s, at 2 schools, plus 21 computer science programs. 1 of the software engineering programs is on ABET’s accredited list. University of Virginia's College at Wise ranks first among the state’s bachelor’s programs, with a score of 69.0 out of 100, #19 nationally. Each program below is checked against the school’s own page.
02At Virginia’s public schools, the median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $9,564 in state and $22,950 out of state, so residency saves about $13,386 a year at the median. Private schools had a median of $36,040. These IPEDS figures are one per school and leave out fees, housing and financial aid.
03Software developers in Virginia earned a median of $136,460 in May 2025, against $135,980 nationally, and half earned between $106,600 and $171,090. The state employed 88,280 of them. Nationally, BLS projects the occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
04Prices in Virginia were 1.1% above the national average in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s measure, and housing stood at 106.8 against a national 100. At national prices, the state’s developer median goes as far as about $134,980. BEA’s 2024 figures are its latest, a year behind the pay data.
05Neighboring states with programs titled software engineering: North Carolina (3), Kentucky (2), Tennessee (1) and West Virginia (1). Each has its own guide with the same comparisons of programs, cost and pay, so a program across the state line can be weighed against one at home, keeping in mind that a public school charges nonresidents more.
This guide
Studying software engineering in Virginia
A degree titled software engineering puts design, testing and the management of large software projects at the center, where computer science centers on computation itself. Virginia offers both, and many software engineers hold either one.
What this page covers
Software engineering programs: the 2 bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Virginia titled software engineering, each checked against the school’s own page.
Computer science programs: the state’s 21 bachelor’s and master’s programs in computer science, from federal data.
Online programs: software engineering degrees from our rankings that can be completed online.
Not included: associate degrees, certificates, bootcamps, doctoral programs and degrees in related fields such as information technology.
Methodology
How we ranked these programs
Programs in Virginia are ranked against each other at the same degree level, highest score first. The score is out of 100 and comes from our national rankings, so a program carries the same score on every page of this site. It isn’t curved for Virginia: each factor is measured against fixed national standards, which is why even the strongest program here can sit well below 100.
The bachelor’s score
University of Virginia's College at Wise: #19 of 75 nationally
University of Virginia's College at Wise leads in Virginia with 69.0 out of 100
Across the country the median bachelor’s score is 56.7 and the highest is 87.0. Its biggest gap is completion, where it earns 14.7 of 35 points. Every scored program is in Best Bachelor’s in Software Engineering.
Scored factors
100 pts total
Cost25 pts
The school’s average net price after grants (IPEDS), in fixed dollar tiers.
Under $12,00025 pts
$12,000 to $15,99920 pts
$16,000 to $19,99915 pts
$20,000 to $24,99910 pts
$25,000 to $31,9995 pts
$32,000 or more0 pts
Completion35 pts
The school’s eight-year completion rate for all entering students (IPEDS Outcome Measures), as a share of the points.
ABET accreditation25 pts
Full points if the program is on ABET’s own accredited list, none if not.
Program size15 pts
Graduates a year, on a log scale that reaches full points at 100.
The master’s score
George Mason: #6 of 44 nationally
George Mason leads in Virginia with 78.7 out of 100
Across the country the median master’s score is 52.0 and the highest is 86.9. Its biggest gap is program size, where it earns 16.7 of 30 points. Every scored program is in Software Engineering Master’s Programs.
Scored factors
100 pts total
Cost40 pts
The school’s graduate tuition (IPEDS), in fixed dollar tiers.
Under $10,00040 pts
$10,000 to $14,99932 pts
$15,000 to $19,99924 pts
$20,000 to $29,99916 pts
$30,000 to $39,9998 pts
$40,000 or more0 pts
Program size30 pts
Graduates a year, on a log scale that reaches full points at 500.
Research activity15 pts
The school’s Carnegie research class, from IPEDS.
R115
R29
Doctoral/professional3
Other0
ABET-accredited department15 pts
Full points if the school’s software engineering or computer science bachelor’s is on ABET’s list.
Each program is ranked against the others in Virginia at the same degree level, by the score our national rankings use. Tuition is IPEDS 2023–24; grad rate is the school’s. Full details for a ranked program are on its ranking page.
Bachelor’s
Master’s
Top 3 in Virginia
Not ranked
Bachelor’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 in Virginia
69.0of 100
University of Virginia's College at Wise
Wise, VA
BSCampus
In-state
$6,040
Out-of-state
$26,182
Completion
42%
✓ ABET-accredited
UVA Wise's software engineering BS is ABET accredited through the Engineering Accreditation Commission, and the university calls it the only four-year undergraduate software engineering degree offered in Virginia. It lives in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and prepares you for entry-level software development work or for graduate study in software engineering or computer science. The software engineering requirements are Engineering Leadership, a requirements and design course, a testing course, and a capstone split over two one-credit courses.
You then choose two upper-level courses from three options: quality and configuration management, maintenance, or project management. On the computer science side you take Python and C++ programming, Data Structures, algorithms, human computer interaction and database design, plus three electives that can include Cybersecurity, Machine Learning and AI, or Mobile Development. Mathematics includes two four-credit calculus courses and discrete structures. The university says the major offers a plethora of paid internships, and any computer science, management information systems or software engineering major can add a concentration in cybersecurity. Many students also join the Lovelace Society.
Master’s in software engineering
1 program
#1 in Virginia
78.7of 100
George Mason
Fairfax, VA
MSCampus
Tuition
$13,726
Out-of-state
$35,677
Grads/yr
30.7
Bridge courses and test-out exams to fill prerequisite gaps
George Mason spells out exactly what you need before you start. Your bachelor's work should cover five areas: intro programming, one object-oriented language from the Java, C++ or C# family, plus data structures and algorithms, machine organization and discrete math. You can show that with undergraduate transcripts, with bridge courses from the School of Computing (COMP 501, 502, 503 and 511), or by passing a test-out exam. Students who earn a B or better in each bridge course can then apply for full admission, and test-out exams are given before classes begin and can only be taken once.
The page also asks for a statement of goals and a current resume. The degree needs 30 graduate credits across ten courses. Four courses are required, covering object-oriented specification, software architecture, interface development and testing. Electives can come from computer science, information security, information systems, operations research and statistics, and a 6-credit thesis is possible with a faculty sponsor. The program draws students from computer science, engineering, mathematics, science and business, and classes meet late in the afternoon.
Compare
Virginia software engineering programs side by side
Virginia software engineering programs compared, by level
Tuition: IPEDS 2023–24, at the program’s level (a master’s figure is the school’s graduate average). Grad rate: the school’s six-year rate for bachelor’s students; N/A on master’s rows, because federal data has no graduation rate for master’s programs. Grads/yr: IPEDS, three-year average. ABET: ABET’s list, retrieved 2026-09-30. #: the program’s rank among Virginia’s ranked programs at its level; NR, not ranked. Score: out of 100, the same score as on the ranking pages.
Computer science
Computer science programs in Virginia
19 schools, 21 programs in the table below.
Computer science is the neighboring degree, and many software engineers hold it. These rows come from federal data, not from each school’s page.
Tuition: IPEDS 2023–24, in-state, before fees and aid; undergraduate for a bachelor’s, and for a master’s the school-wide average across graduate students, which excludes program fees. School grad rate: the school’s six-year rate for bachelor’s students (IPEDS); N/A on master’s rows, because federal data has no graduation rate for master’s programs. ABET: on ABET’s computing (CAC) or engineering (EAC) list, retrieved 2026-10-05; a blank cell means not accredited. A school is in the table when it has at least two of a tuition figure, a grad rate or ABET accreditation, and a program page we could link; the rest are listed under it. SE track: named on the school’s own page.
Cost
What it costs in Virginia
Public, in-state
$9,564
median of 8 schools
Public, out-of-state
$22,950
median of 8 schools
Private
$36,040
median of 11 schools
Living in Virginia is worth about $13,386 a year in tuition at the median public school, the gap between the two public medians. Over a four-year degree that is roughly $53,544, before any change in rates.
Prices in Virginia were 101.1 against a national 100 in 2024, and housing 106.8, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Regional Price Parities. 2024 is BEA’s latest year, a year behind the May 2025 pay figures on this page.
Tuition: IPEDS 2023–24 undergraduate tuition, one figure per school, for the 19 schools with a bachelor’s program in this guide; a median needs at least 3 schools. Excludes fees, housing and aid. Prices: BEA Regional Price Parities by state, 2024, all items and housing services.
Job market
The software job market in Virginia
Virginia employed 88,280 software developers in May 2025. Its location quotient for the occupation is 1.98: the jobs are more concentrated in the state than nationally. Nationally, BLS projects software developer jobs to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Virginia. Location quotient: the state’s share of employment in the occupation divided by the national share (1.0 = the national rate). Growth: BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35, national.
Metro areas
Among the 50 largest U.S. metros, 2 are in Virginia. Software developer employment and pay in each:
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, metropolitan areas, May 2025, software developers. Metro areas are federal CBSAs and can cross state lines; only the 50 largest are on file.
Pay
What software developers earn in Virginia
$83,35010th
$106,60025th
$136,460median
$171,09075th
$211,93090th
Software developers, Virginia, BLS OEWS May 2025. National median: $135,980.
The state median is $136,460, $480 above the national $135,980. Half of the state’s software developers earn between $106,600 and $171,090.
BEA puts prices in Virginia at 101.1 against a national 100 (2024), so the median goes as far as $134,980 would nationally, $1,000 less than the national median.
BEA price parities, 2024; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Online options
Online software engineering degrees for Virginia residents
If no program in Virginia fits, these are the highest-scoring online programs in our rankings. Confirm with each school that it enrolls students living in Virginia.
Tuition: IPEDS 2023–24 out-of-state, the rate an online student from another state usually pays (a master’s figure is the school’s graduate average); a published rate is the school’s own price. National rank and score: our national ranking at the program’s level.
How many software engineering programs are in Virginia?
2 degrees titled software engineering, 1 bachelor’s and 1 master’s, at 2 schools. 1 of them is on ABET’s accredited list.
What is the best software engineering school in Virginia?
University of Virginia's College at Wise ranks first of the 1 ranked bachelor’s programs in Virginia, with a score of 69.0 out of 100 (#19 nationally). The score combines completion, net price, ABET accreditation and program size.
Which software engineering programs in Virginia are ABET-accredited?
University of Virginia's College at Wise (bachelor’s), according to ABET’s accredited program list retrieved 2026-09-30.
How much does a software engineering degree cost in Virginia?
Across Virginia’s public schools in this guide, median undergraduate tuition for 2023–24 was $9,564 for residents and $22,950 for nonresidents; at private schools the median was $36,040. These IPEDS figures exclude fees and housing.
How much do software engineers make in Virginia?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that includes software engineers, earned a median of $136,460 in Virginia in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $83,350 and the 90th $211,930.
Is Virginia pay worth it after cost of living?
BEA puts Virginia’s prices at 101.1 against a national 100 in 2024. Divided by that, the developer median of $136,460 is worth about $134,980 at national prices.
Can Virginia residents take a software engineering degree online?
Yes. Kennesaw State, Minnesota-Crookston and University of Arizona are among the online software engineering programs in our rankings. Check with each school that it enrolls students living in Virginia.
2NCES IPEDS institutional charges, 2023–24Tuition at the program’s level, and undergraduate tuition per school for the cost medians. Excludes fees, housing and aid.
3NCES IPEDS graduation ratesThe school’s six-year graduation rate, for the whole school rather than the program; IPEDS DRVGR2023 where the main pull has no figure.
4Each school’s own program pageProgram name, delivery, credits, and every bullet on the program cards, quoted from the saved page. Read .
